Cheap Thrills

Cheap Thrills nr

Cheap Thrills follows Craig (Pat Healy, Compliance), a struggling family man who loses his low-wage job and is threatened with eviction. In an effort to delay facing the music at home, he heads to a local bar and encounters an old friend (Ethan Embry, Empire Records). The two friends are roped into a round of drinks by a charismatic and obscenely wealthy stranger (David Koechner, Anchorman 2) along with his mysterious wife (Sara Paxton, The Inkeepers). The couple engages the two friends in a series of innocent dares in exchange for money over the course of the evening, with each challenge upping the ante in both reward and boundaries. It seems like easy and much needed money, but the couple’s twisted sense of humor pushes just how far Craig and his friend are willing to go for money and cheap thrills.

Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes

You should watch it as a twisted comedy. Those who do will be rewarded, especially by the film's outlandish final image.

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times, 03.27.2014

Let's just say it takes a dim view of human nature that seems well supported by the evidence, and that if you have an appetite for fatalistic, dirty-minded gore you won't be disappointed.

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com, 03.28.2014

This is not a movie for everybody, but that assessment is not exactly intended as a thumbs down. Alarming thrills are guaranteed.

Rex Reed, New York Observer, 03.26.2014

Screenwriters David Chirchirillo and Trent Haaga pose a simple question -- how much will a person degrade himself to make ends meet? -- but it's a potent one, at least for those of us who ponder it every Monday through Friday.